A Hot Summer Night
by InsanityAllowance
Summary: Released from prison in return for his help against Malekith, Loki isn't comfortable with the pressures of life at court. Seeking solitude and some space to regain his mental balance he comes to Midgard and ends up finding a different sort of comfort. Possibly even healing for a damaged soul. (Rating for nudity, sex and mild coarse language)
1. One

**Author's note:** This was originally going to be a quick one-shot full of fluff and smut, written because being inside my head with a naked Loki was better than dealing with the real world. Then it grew, and got philosophical (although there's still plenty of fluff and smut!) and sort of got out of hand. Which I guess is only to be expected when dealing with the God of Mischief. So in honour of the fact that The Dark World opens here tomorrow, I share it with you and hope you find it as entertaining to read as I did to write. Since it's mostly written and just being edited, I hope to be able to post a chapter every couple of days or so.

For context, this is set in the wake of the new movie, and so may become AU very soon.

**Disclaimer:** If you recognise it, I (sadly) don't own it.

* * *

He stood in the light of the full moon and looked out over the still waters of the mountain lake. The warm night breeze whispered over his bare skin and ruffled his dark hair. The rocks under his feet still held a little of the day's warmth. It was peaceful here in this little valley, with the moonlight washing the colour from everything and creating strange and contradictory shadows. A fine night for a swim and some time away from the strain of his day-to-day life. He raised his arms over his head in preparation to dive when a small sound caught his attention - a soft intake of breath somewhere behind him.

He spun to look for the source, arms dropping to brace against a possible attack. The scene was peaceful at first glance, but... was that movement under the trees? His eyes narrowed. So much for an evening of respite. "You can't hide from me," he called softly, his voice beguiling but with an edge of steel. He moved forward slowly, carefully, fully intending to go in under the trees if necessary to discover who was spying on him.

Instead, a small figure stepped from the shadows to stand before him. His lips pursed as he studied her. A fine, shapely body clad in a short shift. A small bag at her side with a wad of fabric bulging from the top. Hair piled up on top of her head, with only a few long tendrils escaping confinement to blow about her face. Quite a lovely face, too, he decided, with wide eyes over high cheekbones and a sensuous mouth. It was the way she was looking at him, however, that drew him another step closer. Something about the impression she gave of being unable to look away.

"My apologies, sir," she said softly. "I hadn't expected to find anyone else here tonight. I'll... find somewhere else to swim."

If she had seemed fearful he might have let her go, he thought later, Then again, he might not have. But she sounded regretful more than anything else, and she still hadn't taken her eyes from him. Even in the moonlight he could see the high colour in her cheeks as her gaze travelled over him lingeringly before returning to meet his own. Another step closer, and he smiled as he saw a shiver pass over her skin. "Not yet," he told her. "What's your name, little one?"

"It's Karla, sir." She licked her lips, a sudden darting of the tongue that he found oddly riveting, then asked, "And yours?"

Her boldness pleased him - shrinking violets were seldom as much fun as you'd expect - even as it saddened him. He would give her his name, and she would recall his previous exploits in this realm, and she would run from him. _Well, best get it over with._ "I am Loki."

The young woman's eyes widened, which he had expected. So did her smile, which he hadn't. "Oh," she gasped. "That explains it!"

He felt as if he'd just missed a step. This was not the reaction he had anticipated, although it was a far more welcome one. Curious, he asked, "Explains what?"

Her cheeks coloured further as she replied with a certain amount of embarrassment, "Why you're so magnificent. I mean, you're a god."

It had been a long time since he'd been surprised into genuine laughter, but it burst from him now in a peal of delight. _Perhaps tonight isn't lost after all. This one's fun._ "Then why do you wish to leave so soon?" he teased. "There's room for us both to swim here. You are... a little overdressed, however."

Karla stared at him in silence for a moment, long enough that he started to wonder if he had misjudged her, then her lips curved in a smile of wicked pleasure and she dropped her bag to the ground beside her. "You have a point," she said. "Let me do something about that." There was both laughter and challenge in her eyes as she began to slip the light shift from her shoulders.

Now Loki found himself the one unable to look away. Her bared flesh was as pale as his own, pale enough to almost glow in the moonlight. She wore nothing under it but a scrap of something filmy around her hips and soon it too slid down her legs to pool around her ankles with the shift. She delicately lifted one foot, then the other, and stood before him as naked as he was. Desire stirred in him and he moved to circle her, keeping her off-balance as he reached out to remove the pins from her hair and let it cascade around her shoulders.

She laughed as he came to a halt in front of her. Her fingers flexed and she looked for a moment as if she would turn away, but instead she peeked up at him from under long lashes and asked, "May I touch you?"

"Do you want to?" His voice sounded unusually rough to his ears.

"Yes."

"Then yes." Now it was his turn to shiver as she placed her hands hesitantly on his chest and slid them up over his shoulders. The look of concentration on her face made him smile even as her tentative caresses made his breath hitch. As she ran her nails lightly along his collar-bones and back down his chest he bit back a groan and rested his own hands at her waist. He let his thumbs stroke the soft skin gently, but he didn't want to disrupt that delightful concentration. Didn't want to do anything that might make her stop stroking him. In all of his years he had never had anyone explore him with such delicacy or focus, and it was a delicious sensation. _This is dangerous,_ whispered the part of his mind that was forever watching and analysing. _You're not in control here._

His breath hissed as the gentle fingers ventured further down over his stomach, his sides, around his waist to glide up his back. Her own breathing, he was pleased to note, was just as ragged. This slow exploration was affecting her as powerfully as it was him, and his lips curved in a slow smile. _I have enough,_ he decided. _And she's just a mortal. Not a threat. But she will be mine, completely, before the night is over._ The thought pleased him and his hands tightened on her enough to make her gasp.

Even as he relaxed his grip - mortals could break so easily - she looked up at him with that wicked smile. "Impatient?" she asked softly, her eyes sparkling with delight. She ran her nails lightly over the curve of his hip before brushing teasing fingers down his groin.

He didn't stop to think. His hands were still at her waist and he lifted her easily into a crushing embrace as his mouth descended on hers. There was no delicacy here. No finesse. Just desire, and need, and the glorious feeling of soft curves against him and small hands clutching at his shoulders and burying themselves in his hair. She had dealt with his lifting her from the ground by wrapping her legs around his waist as she returned his kisses. This meant that she was pressed against him in a way that threatened to undo the last of his already tenuous self-control, and it took a monumental effort to lift his mouth from hers and examine her.

She was flushed and panting for breath, her eyes bright, her lips swollen from his assault but smiling. He was never sure afterwards what prompted him to make the offer - whether it was a rare need for fair play or that he was testing her desire to see how true it ran - but somehow he ground out, "I will give you this one chance."

"To do what?" For the first time, she looked worried.

"To leave." The words were little more than a growl, and he had to swallow hard before he could continue. "I let go, you gather your things, and you run and don't look back." His chest clenched painfully as he spoke. _Maybe I truly am insane?_

"And if I don't?" Her eyes had narrowed, but she hadn't let go of him yet. "If I stay?"

A surge of excitement shot through him. His voice dropped to a seductive purr. "Then I will make you mine. I will tease you and tempt you until you're begging me for release. I will find all of your secret places, the places where the lightest touch will see you writhing in pleasure, and I will play upon them until you are so, so close to the edge it drives you mad. Then, finally, when you can stand no more, I will take you and make you cry out in such ecstasy as you have never known." With a smile as wicked as any of hers had been, he leaned his head down to whisper in her ear, "I will ruin you for all other men." His tongue flicked against the edge of her jaw and she whimpered and bucked in his arms.

"I think you already have," she gasped. She pulled back to meet his eyes once more. "Just the fact that I'm here, naked and in your arms and desperately wishing you'd kiss me again, within a few minutes of meeting you..." She shook her head with a look of wonder. "I don't know what you're doing to me, Loki, but I want it. I want you."

He didn't know if she had intended to say more, because that last whispered admission snapped the final fetters on his self control and he claimed her mouth again in another bruising kiss.


	2. Two

**Author's note:** So I saw TDW last night. I don't want to give any spoilers, since I know it isn't out everywhere yet, but this story just became officially AU. Not that I don't like where the movie went and how it ended - in fact, I thought it was all nine realms' worth of amazing and raised some _very_ interesting questions - but it just doesn't work for what I've already written or for where I'd intended to go next. Maybe I'll base a future story off speculation about the movie's ending. ;)

Oh, and as soon as it opens in a cinema near you, GO AND SEE IT! Nine realms' worth of amazing, I promise you. (And oh, my Loki feels!)

* * *

She was drowning. Dying perhaps. She didn't know anymore. Then again, she didn't really care, either. Loki was being as good as his word, and she was awash on a sea of pleasure. She could barely think, and certainly not of anything not centred on the wonderful, terrible things he was doing to her.

He had conjured a blanket on the ground before lowering her onto it and proceeding to touch and taste every inch of her body. _Almost every inch,_ she corrected herself. Also true to his word, he had raised her to a fever-pitch of arousal without touching the one place she was desperate to feel his hands or his mouth. _Or both._ He was creative and ruthless and, from the glimpses she'd caught of his face in the moonlight, enjoying every minute of it. Which was good, because she wasn't in any condition to return the favour just now.

"Loki, please..." She had resisted begging until now, unwilling to let him have everything his own way, but it was becoming unbearable. And the one time she'd tried to do something about the problem herself he'd threatened to secure her hands above her head if she didn't behave. While that image wasn't entirely without appeal, she knew she couldn't bear it tonight. At least this way she could still touch him - could still run her hands through his hair or over his back and shoulders. To be completely helpless would surely drive her completely mad!

Loki looked up with a dark chuckle at her whisper. "Oh, so you _can _speak!" He moved over her and gave her a lingering kiss. "Your determination to stay silent for so long is most impressive," he whispered once he was done. "Now, please what?"

Karla hissed and arched against him as he continued to tease her. It was difficult to put a coherent sentence together, but somehow she just knew that he wasn't going to do anything further until she asked for it. Which would probably be sweet if it didn't currently make her want to throttle him. "Please..." She licked her lips, trying to focus on forming words. "Want you. _Need _you, Loki..."

From his soft intake of breath she could tell she'd chosen the right words. He shifted so that she could feel him at her entrance, but his weight on her hips meant that she couldn't move any closer than he was allowing. "Is this what you want?" he asked. His tone was teasing, but his voice was rough with desire.

"Yes. Please!" That last came out as a gasp of pure desperation, and he finally took pity on her and drove into her with a single hard thrust. She couldn't help the cry of pain that escaped her - she had noted early in the evening's proceedings that he was impressively endowed, but she hadn't followed the thought to its logical conclusion until now - and he instantly stilled.

"Karla? Little one, are you well?" He sounded concerned, and she found herself unexpectedly smiling.

"It's just been a while," she told him, caressing his face. "And you're... quite impressive."

His face was mostly shadowed at this angle, but she could see his teeth flash in a quick grin. "I'll go slowly," he promised. "I'm not about to undo all my good work."

Her attempted response turned into a soft whimper as he began to move inside her, and even she wasn't sure whether the sound owed more to pleasure or pain. As he continued, though, the pain faded as pleasure very definitely gained ascendency. His boast about his skill hadn't been an empty one and she found herself clutching at his arms and involuntarily raising her hips to meet each thrust. "Dear gods..."

Loki paused and cocked his head, his teeth catching the moonlight in another of those quick, feral grins. "Only one god you need to concern yourself with just now, my sweet girl. Me."

She laughed and was rewarded with a soft groan of pleasure from him. "_My_ god," she murmured, running her fingers along the edge of his jaw. He growled and thrust into her again, and she drew his head down for a kiss. The fact that he let himself be drawn was as heady as the feel of his lips on hers, since he'd already made it clear that he was the one in control of the proceedings. She broke off with a cry as he slipped a hand between them and the extra friction just _there _sent wave after wave of fire racing along her nerves.

Dimly she was aware of an echoing cry from Loki. He held himself very still for a moment, breathing harshly, then carefully lowered himself until his forehead rested against hers. They lay like that for a while, muscles twitching, breath slowly returning to a more even rhythm, until he lifted his head again and shook it. "That was... unexpected," he said with a rueful chuckle. "I hadn't intended for it to end so soon, but..." He drew in a quivering breath, shaking his head once more.

Karla smiled dreamily. "Let's take a little time to recover before trying again, shall we?" _I'm not sure I'd survive round two right away,_ she added to herself.

He threw back his head with a bark of laughter. "You are full of surprises," he chuckled. Rolling to lie beside her, he gathered her against his chest. "I might almost have to revise my opinion of mortals after this."

It was a wonderful feeling to be encircled by strong arms and pressed against firm muscle. So tempting to just let herself drift in post-coital bliss, but a statement like that couldn't possibly be allowed to pass without a response. She raised one eyebrow and said, "Only 'almost'? I obviously need to try harder."

"I look forward to it." The other advantage to their new position was that she could see his face more clearly, and the challenge in both his eyes and his smile made her shiver. His smile grew as he felt it.

Looking to change the subject before that recovery-time became non-existent, she asked, "So am I allowed to ask why you were standing naked on the bank of a Midgardian lake in the middle of the night?" She felt a little proud that she remembered enough of Norse mythology to use 'Midgard' instead of 'Earth'.

Loki raised one eyebrow and said blandly, "Like you, I was going for a swim." She snorted and gave him a mock glare. He returned an innocent smiled, then relented. "I have only recently been accepted back into Asgard's court, but that acceptance is incomplete. Few like me, fewer trust me." He shrugged. "Not entirely undeserved, but that's beside the point. But such scrutiny, day after day, is wearying. I sought some peace and quiet and time alone, that's all."

"Sorry I messed that up for you then."

"Don't be sorry." He grinned. "While I can't exactly say your company has been restful, it has certainly been restorative."

She laughed and replied cheekily, "Glad to be of service." Considering his explanation, she hesitated before saying, "You said accepted back... Do you mean after what happened in New York?"

His expression darkened. "Yes, after that and... other things. Would it please you or bother you to know that I was imprisoned for my transgressions?" His tone was harsh, and it seemed to Karla that he knew which answer he was expecting to hear.

"Both and neither," she murmured. He made an interrogative noise, and she smiled sadly as she clarified, "I can't be entirely unhappy that there was some punishment after New York. That was a lot of destruction, a lot of death, that you were responsible for in one way or another. But I'll admit I'm a little relieved that it was only imprisonment. I know that our myths about your people probably aren't entirely accurate, but there's a lot of inventive and truly sadistic punishments in there. I'm glad that didn't happen to you."

Loki gave an odd, choked little laugh. "That's probably greater understanding and forgiveness than I have any cause to expect in this realm. Thank you."

She dropped a kiss on his shoulder. "Well, I'll admit I'm probably biased, but then again I also didn't entirely disagree with your goals." She shrugged. "It would never have worked, but the idea was nice."

"Oh?" There was an intensity in his expression now that was incredibly compelling. "What makes you say that?"

_That's got his attention,_ she thought with an inward chuckle. _I wonder if anyone's bothered to sit down and talk this through with him, or if they just shouted at him and threw him in jail?_ She settled back comfortably into the curve of his arm. "When you said that humanity craved subjugation, that we spend too much time and effort scrambling for power, you weren't entirely wrong. That scramble for power causes trouble time and time again, for individuals as well as nations. And there is a certain relief sometimes in just sitting back and letting someone else call the shots. Make the decisions. But you missed one vital point."

"What's that? And can I add that I'm intrigued that you're so familiar with my speech? You weren't there, were you?"

She chuckled. "Even with you intimidating the crap out of everyone, there were still people with the presence of mind to film it on their phones. I saw it, and I spent a fair bit of time thinking about it. Which brings us to the bit you missed: humans are perverse creatures, to the point of being downright contrary as all get-out! If you try and impose something like that there'll certainly be those who fall into line. But there'll be just as many who will fight against it with everything that they are simply because personal sovereignty and individuality is so very much a part of our make-up."

"I had a way of dealing with that problem." He looked down at her with a wry smile. "It may have taken a while, but it wouldn't have been insurmountable."

"I'd heard rumours of mind control of some sort..." She trailed off questioningly. When he nodded, she said, "So you'd have enslaved the minds or wills or whatever of everyone? Still wouldn't have worked. You've just as much as said you couldn't do it to the whole planet at once, and once people realised what you were doing they'd have fought. There's probably no surer way of getting large groups of people to rise up against you than to threaten human individuality, and you'd be amazed at how tenacious humans can be when we feel threatened. The idea of a society remade into a horde of mindless clones has been a popular horror story trope for ages. That has motivating power like you wouldn't believe."

Loki looked thoughtful. "But you agreed that it would be a beneficial thing for humanity to be ruled over in that way? Why then should they fight?"

Karla wrinkled her nose. "As a species we're not really geared towards the greater good as a rule. And while I do say that I can see the potential benefits, that's true, I don't necessarily hold that it would be altogether good either. Human individuality and striving has its value as well." She frowned as she tried to capture a stray thought, then added, "It's been said that the absolute best form of government is a benevolent despotism, which is kind of what you were talking about establishing - one person at the top who has all the power and makes all the decisions, but that those decisions would be made with the welfare of society at heart." She eyed him sidelong. "At least I hope that's what you were proposing."

He chuckled. "Of course. It wouldn't have suited me to rule over a realm to its destruction. And as much as anything else I was looking to... prove my worth, shall we say. But you're implying that, although this is a known fact, it doesn't actually happen. Why not?"

"We have another saying: absolute power corrupts absolutely." She grimaced. "The chances of finding someone who could wield that sort of power and not succumb to the temptation to use it for selfish ends are vanishingly small. And even if you did, even if you found a veritable saint who had only love for their people and no desire for self-aggrandisement, what of their successor? Will the next ruler be equally restrained? What of the next? Sooner or later you'll have someone in the position who just can't resist."

Loki grinned. "Well, I have something of an advantage there. No need for a successor."

"And how are you at resisting temptation?" she teased. "This evening suggests not very."

He laughed and gave her a squeeze. "This evening has been unusual in a number of ways, but I take your point." He continued to chuckle for a moment, then sobered. "You've given me much to think about, though. I had several reasons for targeting this realm, but perhaps one of them was based on... erroneous information?"

"You mean because we're not quite the pushovers you assumed we'd be?" She gave him an innocent smile. "Yeah, that sounds about right."


	3. Three

It was a lot to think about, and Loki wasn't entirely certain he was up to it at the moment. He also wasn't entirely certain what surprised him more: the new insight into humanity, or the fact that it came from such an unexpected source._ How many people take the time to really think about their own people critically?_ he wondered. _Few do in Asgard, and I saw evidence of few doing it here. But there are obviously some like her. Like me._ It was a strange thought. He had little experience with people who ever gave such questions space, let alone were interested in debating them. And yet even before he learned that he wasn't of the people he had always thought of as his, he had watched and questioned and probed into 'why'. Why people did things. Why they believed things. And, of course, how those beliefs and actions could be influenced, because that was the most intriguing puzzle of all.

_Too much thinking,_ he decided abruptly. _Tonight was supposed to be relaxing. I can mull this over some other time._ He looked down at his companion, curled against his side with one hand splayed out across his chest, and suggested with a smile, "Neither of us did get that swim we came for."

Karla snuggled closer to him. "True. But I'm not sure I'm capable of standing just yet."

"Still feeling a little shaky, my dear?" he sniggered. She stuck her tongue out at him. "Allow me to be of assistance," he purred, gathering her closer. It amused him - and aroused him, a little - how readily she rolled into the closer embrace. When he felt he had a firm enough grip, however, he twisted gracefully to his feet with her still held against him. Her squeak of surprise made him laugh, and before she had a chance to recover he took a few running steps to where he had originally intended to dive from and jumped.

Her yelp was cut off as they hit the water. They came up still entwined, Karla spluttering and gasping for breath, he laughing in glee. The glare she shot him would have been more effective if it hadn't been obvious that she too was trying not to laugh. "You know that demands payback," she said, her eyes alight with mischief. Without giving him a chance to respond, she braced her hands against his shoulders and heaved herself up, pushing him under the water.

The next few minutes were a confusion of water and tangled limbs and laughter as they both sought advantage. It was a more even contest than he had expected. He was stronger by far, but she was small and quick and slipped out of his grasp time and again when he tried to pin her. When the burst of energy finally subsided he had a pain in his side from laughing so hard and from the way she held herself he suspected she did too. They floated side by side for a while, recovering their breath. "You're good at this," he remarked at last, flashing her a quick grin.

"Lots of practise," she replied blandly. "I may be older than all my cousins, but they're all bigger than me. When we'd go to the beach every summer as kids, it was good practise of evasion skills. That or drown." She laughed and flicked water at him. "You're not exactly a slouch yourself, sir. And a lot more fun to grapple with than my cousins."

He snorted and said with mock injury, "I should hope so!" Considering her words for a moment, he ventured, "So you've no siblings then?" She shook her head, and he sighed. "I envy you."

She eyed him cautiously for a long moment, her lower lip caught between her teeth. Finally she said, "Now, I don't even pretend to have the whole story, but... Thor's your brother?"

"No, he's not," he snapped. The flash of hurt in her eyes made him regret his tone and he drew a hand over his face as he tried to find a way to explain what had become a familiar pain to him. "We thought we were brothers our whole lives. Until very recently, in fact. Then I learned that I was a foundling, adopted into the royal house of Asgard when I was a mere babe. That I'd been lied to my whole life." _And we won't mention_ where_ I was adopted from,_ he thought sourly.

Karla winced and moved closer so she could wrap her arms around him. "Ouch," she murmured. "I think I understand why you wanted to break something. It just would have been nice if it wasn't my world."

He chuckled, marvelling again at the easy acceptance she offered. It was disarming, he thought later, this sharing of confidences with someone who listened and understood and accepted. He found himself continuing, "It made a lot of things make sense, though. Why Thor was always favoured by Odin. By the Court. By pretty much everyone. I never asked how many of them knew, but it can't have been that much of a secret. Mother's not one to closet herself away, so they had to have known she never bore me." The bitterness of that last statement surprised him a little - he'd never put that thought into words before and now he realised how much it had been festering.

Then she threw him a new question that knocked the metaphorical floor out from under him with its simplicity: "So why is he 'Odin' but she's still 'Mother'?"

His mind whirled, and when he opened his mouth to defend himself nothing came out at first. He struggled to make sense of the conflicting thoughts and finally, hesitantly, said, "We were always close. She always had time for me when I was a child, while Odin was often busy. She shared with me her love of learning, and of magic, and taught me to love them too. When I was imprisoned for my crimes she made sure I had a few basic comforts, and a lot of books to keep me from going mad alone in my cell." A small tremor went through him as he concluded, "Because she's the only one I've never doubted loves me for me. For who I really am."

"Sounds like she's the only one who really knows," Karla mused, giving him a squeeze. "Let me run a scenario by you, and tell me if I've gotten anything wrong. Based on the myths and legends we have here about your people, I understand Asgard to have a fairly martial culture. In fact, I'm guessing that to be a Warrior of Asgard is the dream of most youths. Now, I've seen some footage of Thor from New York. Long distance, but it's obvious the man's built like a brick shit-house. There's warrior material right there if ever I've seen it. Then there's you, smaller and slimmer as well as being younger - you are younger, aren't you?" He nodded, his lips still twitching from the 'brick shit-house' comment even as something in him quailed in expectation of her assessment of him. But she surprised him again as she went on, "You wouldn't have been able to keep pace with him in the training yard, but you would have run rings around him at any studies the pair of you were set. And your mother noticed that, and so fostered that side of you and made sure that you had a skill - a powerful skill - that would let you hold your own against anything the world threw at you." She gave him an unsure-but-game smile. "How did I do?"

He pressed his lips against her forehead and drew in a shuddering breath. "You missed Thor's friends," he replied, struggling to keep his tone neutral. "Proven warriors all four of them, and while there is no shame in Asgard in pursuing magic as a focus, none of them ever missed an opportunity to belittle me for it. To dismiss what I did as mere tricks, not worthy of adulation or even rememberance. And this despite the number of times my 'tricks' saved us all or got us out of a difficult spot."

She hissed in displeasure. "They all deserve a smack upside the head," she told him seriously. "Or maybe a good hard kick in the balls would drive the message that they're idiots home better."

"Wouldn't work for Sif," he replied with a wry smile. "But I do thank you for the thought."

Karla grinned. "Well, I'm sure we could come up with something. But for what it's worth, I think you - and what you can do - are amazing." She chuckled, the colour rising in her cheeks once more. "In fact, if this was a different kind of meeting, I'd ask you for a magic lesson."

_It's worth more than you might think,_ he mused silently, unwilling to express such a sentiment out loud. The second admission made him smile, though. "I'm not sure I'm the best person to ask for an absolute basics lesson," he admitted. "Magic has been such a part of me for so long that much of it has become instinctive. Automatic. I could teach someone who already knew the basics of sorcery, but..." He trailed off in regret. It would have been fun to teach her. To share his knowledge and his passion for knowledge with someone who seemed to truly appreciate its value.

The water rippled around them and a small wave rose up to slap against the side of his head. "Like that, you mean?" She looked up at him with a smug smile, her eyes dancing merrily.

He gaped at her for a moment as he tried to reconcile what had just happened with the idea he'd had of human capabilities. Then, hastily, he extended those other senses - senses he hadn't even thought to exert because he was on Midgard, and what did humans know of magic? - and felt the thread of power running through her. Weak by Asgardian standards, of course, and erratic, but the fact that it was there at all was a surprise. He threw back his head and laughed until his convulsions threatened to swamp both of them.

When he finally brought himself under control once more, he found her still watching him. Her smile was still in place, but there was a hint of wariness in her eyes that hadn't been there before. He gathered her back into his arms. "My sweet, sweet girl, do you have any idea what a treasure you are?" he asked softly. She blinked up at him in surprise and he grinned. "I'd no idea that humanity had progressed so far. Or are you unique?"

She shook her head. "Not unique, but rare." She dropped her gaze and shifted uncertainly. "To be honest, it's a large part of what drew me to this spot tonight. I'd been coming for a swim anyway, and then I sensed... well, you, as it turned out." Her smile turned self-conscious. "Back when I was in my teens, when I first started to wonder if there were other people like me, I taught myself to recognise the... the feel of magic, I guess. To see it, in some way. So that if I did come across people like me I'd know. Does that make sense?"

He nodded. "Perfect sense. I can do something similar, and usually do when I'm not in the one realm in all nine where I never expected to need to." And that was as close to an admission of error as he was willing to come. "I'm curious, though. What did you sense of me?"

"You shine like a beacon," she replied simply. "I've never seen anything like it before. Which isn't surprising, really. But I had to block that awareness off, because you're just too dazzling for me to look at like that." She paused, then ran one hand down his chest and added with a smirk, "Of course, it turned out you're pretty dazzling in your own right as well, so I'm not sure how much that helped."

The touch and the admiring words sent a jolt through him, and with it came a realisation. There were certain techniques he had held off using because he hadn't been sure of their effect on an unprotected mortal mind, but she wasn't unprotected. Untrained, yes, but her mind knew how to deal with the coursings of magic. Nuzzling her ear, he whispered, "Let me show you some magic, then." She smiled up at him expectantly, then gasped as he began to pour power into her and along her nerves, sensitising them, stroking them, layering sensation on sensation until she was clinging to him and whimpering. Feeling smugly pleased with himself, he eased the flow of power and cupped her chin so he could see her face.

Her eyes were wide, her mouth open in wonder. "How?" she whispered. "Show me, please?"

"How? Magic of course." He laughed when she made a face and splashed water at him. "But why do you need me to show you how it's done? Isn't it enough to enjoy the results?" It was an odd request, he thought, and not one he'd ever received before.

She shook her head. "I'd never known you could use magic like that. And you said you'd teach me if I knew the basics." She was challenging him now, but playfully, and it made him smile.

"Very well." He taught her the way Frigga had taught him his first uses of power: with a light touch to the mind and guidance in the feel and the shaping of it to the desired end. For her part, she was quick and eager and before long he could tell she had the understanding of what he had done.

Then she did the last thing he expected. With a wicked grin she turned that power outward and poured it into him instead. For a moment it was as if he couldn't breathe, couldn't see, couldn't think. The unexpectedness coupled with the sheer physical ecstasy left him gasping. All the times he had used his own body as a testing ground while he refined his technique had not in any way prepared him for what it was like to have someone else set out to pleasure him this way. He clenched his teeth together, unsure whether he was on the verge of pleading with her to stop or pleading with her to never stop, but determined not to do either.

Moments - an eternity - later, the flood of power slowed and he was able to process rational thought again. He looked down into smiling eyes and found a smile tugging at his own lips in response. His groin ached with a need more intense than any he'd felt before and he captured her lips in a searing kiss even as he pulled her against him and thrust into her. She was ready and eager for him, and a small corner of his mind wondered if she had been left with such an all-consuming need as he had. If so, the fact that she had pushed him to teach her just so she could turn his own skills back on him was doubly amazing. Then their motion sent them dipping below the water's surface and he lost the train of thought as they surfaced, laughing and spluttering, to twine further around each other.

His magic was never far from him, even when he was so consumed by passion as this. Indeed, during their first coupling on the rocks it had taken a constant awareness to _not_ use it. Now he gladly poured himself into her and revelled in her cries of pleasure, the way she gasped his name over and over, the feeling of her body contracting around him. He didn't let up then, either, pushing her to further heights while her nails scored his shoulders and she trailed hot, desperate kisses down his throat. This, for him, had always been the headiest aspect of sex: the knowledge that no matter how poised and self-possessed the woman, he could reduce them to the point where nothing existed in their world but him. Then that sweet fire raced through him once more and he groaned. His movements became more frantic and they went under more than once. She didn't let up, though, and neither did he, and the loop of pleasure between them was building to the point where he was no longer able to hold back and he finished with a cry the next time she did.

They both let the flow of power between them die away as they floated, still entwined and gasping for breath. Loki felt dazed, not just from the aftermath of such intense pleasure but from the realisation of what had just happened. Without being fully aware of speaking aloud, he murmured, "I was definitely _not_ prepared for that."

Karla, cushioned against his shoulder, peered up at him with interest. "It really surprised you, didn't it? Why? Do you usually avoid sleeping with fellow sorcerers or something?"

He chuckled and tried to find the words to explain it to her even as he wondered why it mattered so much to him that she understand. "I've bedded women with great skill in magic before, but not one of them has ever asked to learn what I taught you. And even if they had, I doubt they would have bothered to use it with me." He read the question in her eyes and sighed. "What you have to understand is the position I occupied at court. Even before my fall from grace, I was never seen as a particularly desirable match. The younger son, skinny and weak, devoted to games of the mind rather than of battle." He snorted derisively. "I did manage a tryst now and then, and word started to spread of my... talents. I think over the years I became the guilty secret of at least half the women of the court. The man you went to for a night of excitement and pleasure and a hint of danger, but not the man you'd want to be seen with socially." He drew in a deep breath, trying to ease the bitterness of those memories. The times he'd been turned down or laughed at for suggesting to a woman he'd taken as a lover that it might become more than just a single night's romp.

"Are all the women in Asgard insane?" The incredulous tone of the woman in his arms jolted him out of his reverie. "Why would... How... Can they even..." She shook her head, possibly as much at her inability to finish any of those questions as at the questions themselves. Composing herself, she took a deep breath and began again. "They're mad. There's no other explanation for it. You're intelligent, fun, so damn gorgeous it hurts, and while I can't say anything about how good you are in bed you're pretty sensational in a lake!" He laughed, startled and charmed by both her frankness and her support, and after a moment she joined in. Then she sobered and added, "If you ever feel like a change of pace, come and find me again and we'll go dancing or something. You do dance, don't you?"

The offer caught him by surprise and he felt his eyes prick with moisture. Grateful that they were both so wet it was unlikely to be noticed, he managed a smile and nodded. "I've always enjoyed dancing."

She grinned. "Thus elevating yourself above at least ninety per cent of the men of my acquaintance. So keep it in mind. I'd be more than happy to spend a social evening with you on the town, with or without the prospect of getting naked with you at some point later in the evening." She considered this for a moment. "Preferably with, though," she added with a chuckle.


	4. Four

**Author's note:** Apologies for the delay. My house was broken into and the %$# stole my laptop. Thankfully I back everything up online, but I've been reduced to my phone as my only regular source of internet browsing for the last couple of weeks and editing chapters that way just isn't working for me! But I'm back on deck now, and will hopefully have the next chapter up in a few days. Thanks for your patience, and thanks also to my wonderful reviewers. You light up my life!

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"So what else can you do?" Loki asked curiously as they waded into the shallows and climbed up to lean back against the rocks.

Karla ducked her head with embarrassment as she started to wring the water out of her hair. Admitting her ignorance to one of the foremost masters of magic wasn't going to be easy, but she decided she had more to gain by being honest. Better by far to be a little embarrassed now than overstate her abilities and risk being utterly humiliated if she got caught in a lie. "A hodge-podge of strange, small things," she said with a small laugh. "Oddly enough, there isn't anywhere to get training around here so I sort of make it up as I go along."

He flashed her a quick smile. "Naturally. And that's why I'm so interested. I'd like to see what you've come up with."

"Ah." She shivered, and not from the breeze on damp skin. _That smile does terrible things for my concentration._ "Well, a lot of it I discovered by accident. That thing with the water? Tantrum in the bath when I was a kid. I'm not sure who was more scared, me or my mother."

Loki chuckled. "I'm glad it didn't keep you from experimenting."

She shook her head. "I'm way too curious for that," she replied with a grin. "But I guess you can divide what I can do into three categories, really. There's the accidental, like that one. And being able to... push things away from me, I guess. Like if something's thrown at me I can sometimes make it change course so it doesn't hit me." Her smile turned rueful. "I don't always manage that one though, sadly. But then there's practical, utilitarian things that I learned to do because when it comes right down to it I can be lazy about some things. And if you can do magic, then it should make your life easier, right? So I can do things like plait my hair without using my hands, or dry it quickly." She held up a lock of mostly dry hair as an example. "I can also bring things to me that I can't reach, if they're small. Useful when you're not very tall, which isn't something I'd expect you to understand." She grinned at him and ran a hand up his thigh. "You with your legs that go on forever!"

He laughed and captured her hand in his own. "Ah, but you forget that I was once a small boy. And those are not skills to be discounted, for all that they're relatively simple. Now, before you distract me completely, shameless girl, tell me about the third category."

Karla couldn't help smiling at the thought that she might be able to distract him, especially from a topic clearly of interest to him. _Does that mean I'm a topic of interest to him as well?_ she wondered. It was a pleasant thought, but she forced her mind back to the question. "Well, the last category is things I learned from books. Sort of. See, I've always read a lot of fantasy - made-up stories with magic and monsters and adventures and all that. And sometimes I'd come across a description of something done by magic and I'd think, 'I wonder if I can do that?' Sometimes the book would outline the way it was done based on the rules of magic in that story's universe, and I'd try to duplicate the method if it made sense and didn't rely on something I didn't have access to. More often though I'd just try and duplicate the results. My success rate was variable, but I did manage a few things. I can walk on air, although not for long because it's damn hard, and if I really concentrate I can stick my hand in a fire without burning. That sort of thing."

"Now that is a very interesting way of going about it," he mused. "I've occasionally worked backwards from a description in an old book, figuring out how to achieve a particular effect when only the end result was described. But the books I was working from all assumed the same rules, and I had centuries of training in what those rules were and how to apply them. To do the same when the rules keep changing... That would be quite a challenge." He sounded impressed, and she didn't bother trying to hide how pleased that made her.

Of course, the way he tossed off 'centuries of training' was hard to ignore. "Some of us don't have the benefit of either training or centuries, my dear," she said with a laugh. "It's more a matter of 'poke at it while you can and hope you don't blow yourself up'."

He gave her an odd look. "Does it bother you? The centuries part?"

She didn't even have to think about that one. With a grin and a shrug, she quipped, "I've always had a thing for tall, older men." _He deserved better than that,_ she thought immediately, contrite. _He asked the question seriously, he deserves a serious answer._ Their hands were still entwined, so she gave his a reassuring squeeze. "When the age difference measures in multiple decades, I guess that can be a bit weird. And potentially ick, maybe. But you're immortal. After a certain point it stops being meaningful as an age difference as far as I'm concerned. And you don't _look _much older than me, a consideration which probably makes me terribly shallow." She considered the situation for a moment from the other side. What must it be like for him, talking to someone whose life-span was such a tiny fraction of his? The question gave her a strange feeling, but it had always been her way to confront strange head-on. "What about for you? Does it bother you to be spending the evening with someone who, at best, will only ever measure their life as _a_ century?"

It was gratifying, in a way, that he took some time to consider his answer. It was also unnerving. Just as she was starting to regret having asked the question, he shook his head. "It doesn't, but it does feel... odd. Because I've enjoyed talking to you as much as I've enjoyed the evening's more... physical entertainment. I never expected a mortal to be this interesting."

"Arrogant bugger, aren't you?" she said teasingly, poking him in the chest with her free hand.

"Well I _am _a god," he replied with a grin. His eyes were alight with amusement and something else she couldn't quite place.

As she returned the grin and stretched up to kiss him, she thought, _He enjoys the banter too. I wonder how many people in Asgard are comfortable enough with him to play? Not many I suspect, given what he said earlier._ The thought made her feel sad. She liked Loki. She wanted him to be happy, and she sensed that he wasn't. From the friction between him and those he was closest to, to the knowledge that Asgardian women had no interest in him as a person, his life must be pretty hollow. She could understand why he had slipped away for some time alone.

Winding her fingers through his hair as the kiss deepened, another thought occurred to her. Despite the vast difference in their ages, despite his far greater experience and (if she was being honest) skill at sex, he'd said that none of the women he'd been with had cared about ensuring his pleasure. That meant that anything she did was going to have serious novelty value. Like when they'd been playing with magic earlier. He was less surprised that she _could _than that she _did_. That she'd wanted to. It was an odd realisation, one that didn't sit comfortably at all. How could you want to have sex with someone and not care if they were enjoying it? She couldn't imagine not wanting to give pleasure as well as receive it.

They were definitely moving into 'distracted' territory now. Loki had rolled so that he lay half on top of her, his hands roaming freely. It was tempting to just relax into it - he was extremely skilled, after all - but she had a point to make. She broke the kiss and pushed gently at his chest with her open palm. "My turn now, I believe." He looked at her in confusion and she gave him a wicked smile. "You've had a chance to thoroughly explore and play and tease. Therefore it's my turn."

His eyes widened and for a moment he seemed on the verge of saying something. Then he chuckled and shook his head. "Full of surprises," he murmured. "What did you have in mind?"

"For you to lie back and enjoy," she replied, her eyes sparkling. "I want to learn what you like."

A puzzled frown creased his brow for a moment. She kept her gaze locked on his, daring him to step outside his comfort zone, and felt a thrill of achievement when he rolled onto his back and tucked his hands behind his head. "I am at your disposal, my lady," he said. There was a mocking bite to the words, however, and a stiffness to his posture. She wondered if they hid fear, and if so what he was afraid of. Surely he didn't think she could hurt him? An inner voice whispered, _Perhaps he fears you mock him. That you're setting him up to look foolish._ That thought was like a punch to the gut, but she did her best to keep her disquiet from showing on her face. She could give him this much at least: a counterbalance to whoever had left such a deep scar on his soul.

She rolled onto her knees beside him and drew her nails softly over the underside of each arm, starting at the wrists where they rested either side of his head and ending alongside his shoulders. A shiver chased over his skin and she smiled, even though he was still watching her with narrowed eyes. She ran her hands down his chest as she had at the start of the night and whispered, "I don't think you truly understand just how attractive I find you, Loki. Your body, your mind, your voice..." Her hands ran back up again and rested lightly on his shoulders as she leaned over to kiss him lingeringly. It felt like some of the defensive wariness was leaving him, which pleased her.

A trail of kisses along his jaw and down his throat led to a more thorough exploration of his chest, and she grinned to herself when she flicked her tongue over his nipple in passing and made him jump. She worked slowly, feeling him gradually relax and respond to her ministrations. It wasn't until she ran her tongue over the indentation at the curve of his hip, however, feeling him buck beneath her and hearing his groan of pleasure, that she knew he'd truly accepted what she was offering. That knowledge was intoxicating, as was the taste and the smell of his skin - something spicy and wild and altogether male.

Her hair was spilled over his lap, and she had the impish thought, _It can't be that different from plaiting it._ A bit of concentration and the long tresses took on a life of their own, slithering teasingly over his thighs. The sound he made was somewhere between a groan and a chuckle, and she looked up to see that he'd closed his eyes, his lips relaxed in a smile. Her attention was drawn by further evidence of his arousal, though, in the form of the very large, very hard cock twitching mere inches away from her face. Her mind boggled slightly at the thought that she'd somehow managed to fit all of him inside her but it made a tempting target, and she took a mischievous delight in licking slowly from the base to the tip.

Loki's back arched and he gasped a curse in a language that she didn't recognise. _His native tongue?_ she had a moment to wonder before she felt his hand tangle in her hair and draw her up. He wasn't rough but he was insistent. She was happy to let herself be drawn, sliding her body along his until she was in his arms, his mouth hot and hungry on hers. The feeling of drowning in him was becoming familiar, and that familiarity and her own stubborn pride gave her the strength to resist letting him take back control. She broke the kiss with a laugh and said teasingly, "Patience isn't your strong suit, is it?"

"Not tonight, it seems." There was enough heat in his eyes to melt a glacier and it sent a shiver of delight through her. He slipped a hand between her thighs and hissed, even as his caress made her squirm and whimper. "So wet," he whispered, his surprise obvious. "You truly are enjoying this, aren't you?"

Karla nodded, swallowing hard before she could find her voice. "Oh yes. And I haven't finished with you yet."

He gave another of those dark chuckles. "Not like that, though," he murmured. "I would prefer to spend myself inside you."

"Are you that close?" she asked, combing her fingers through his hair and continuing on across his shoulder. He shivered and his arms tightened around her briefly.

"Yes, damn you." His expression was somewhere between amusement and annoyance, as if he couldn't figure out how he'd gotten into this situation but was enjoying himself too much to really object.

"Let me do something about that for you, then." It was difficult not to laugh at his surprise when she pushed him onto his back and swung her leg over so she straddled his hips. Reaching down, she guided him into her and began to sink down slowly over him. When he growled and moved his hands to her waist, obviously intending to hurry her progress, she caught them and crossed them over his chest instead. "My turn," she reminded him playfully. It was hard enough to keep to the slow pace she'd decided on, when she wanted him so badly. She didn't need his encouragement. Even if the idea of him grabbing her hips while she rode him was such a very, very attractive one.

Loki, for his part, made an odd strangled noise in his throat and glared at her. Then she shifted again and his expression softened. "Your turn," he agreed with a grin. He drew her hands to his lips and kissed them. "I want to touch you, though." When she nodded, he slid his hands up her legs and over the curve of her hips. She wasn't surprised when he began to tease her with his magic once more, although the fact that it wasn't the deluge of sensation from earlier was unexpected. It was gentler, more subtle, but still enough to leave her gasping.

The mischief and amusement in his eyes made her laugh. "Cheat." Still, she enjoyed the fact that he had relaxed enough to be playful. And it wasn't as though she couldn't respond in kind. Sinking down to cover him fully, she tried to match the gentle flow of power back into him and was rewarded with a chuckle. "That isn't going to get you the upper hand this time, you know," she pointed out with a grin.

"Ah, but it is such fun trying," he replied. He hissed as she began moving slowly along him. His smile turned challenging as he added, "And you know that I could."

She shrugged and drew her nails slowly down his chest. "But you won't."

"Oh? And what makes you so sure of that?"

"Because you're having too much fun seeing what I'll do next."

He opened his mouth to reply, then shut it again. Laughing softly, he said, "I concede the point. But if you don't start moving faster, I _will _be forced to intervene."

"Tsk, tsk, so impatient," she murmured, reaching behind her to run her nails up the backs of his thighs. His growl of frustration and the way he narrowed his eyes, together with her own growing need, saw her increase the tempo anyway. Skill and planning rapidly gave way to urgent desire as Karla slid along the length of him and heard his groans of pleasure. His hands were everywhere, stroking and teasing, and still there was that thread of magic running between them heightening every sensation. It was fighting a losing battle to try and draw it out much more, and as she approached the crest she felt a certain satisfaction in feeling him follow her over the edge.

He drew her down to lay across his chest while they were still both twitching and gasping from the intensity of their pleasure, shifting his hips so she could stretch her legs out more comfortably. They lay like that for a while in companionable silence before he pressed his lips against the top of her head and murmured, "Your point is made."

She wrinkled her nose. "Mind reading, Loki?"

Loki shook his head with a chuckle, sounding deeper than usual with her ear against his chest. "Not necessary. I think I'm coming to understand you passably well, however. And... I thank you." That last sounded hesitant, but she suspected that the hesitation came from unfamiliarity rather than a lack of honesty. _It's probably not often he has cause to genuinely thank someone,_ she thought sadly.

"You're very welcome," she replied softly, planting a kiss on his shoulder as she snuggled deeper into his embrace.


End file.
